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Showing posts with label buffet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label buffet. Show all posts

Wednesday, 5 October 2011

Barbeque Nation @ Nagar road

If you are planning to go to Barbeque Nation on Nagar road for dinner, I suggest that you stop reading this, phone ahead to make a booking and plan on reaching there.

I went there recently and had quite a pleasurable evening.

This one is a long one so be prepared to read.

[Ambience / Experience ]
The restaurant is well decorated like most other restaurants in the same league. It is quite well and brightly lit; I mean that in a good way.

All the tables have a cavity at the center of the table where a mini-barbeque grill with fresh embers of coal are placed. Your barbeque skewers are placed on top of these mini-barbeques. There is a small brass-rod like stand with a joint half way up it's length and a flag on top. When you would like them to stop serving starters, the flag needs to be turned down, until which time they would keep serving you starters.

Also on the table are two groups of 3 sauces each. There are flavoured sauces, some sweet some a bit ketchup like, and to apply the sauces, brushes are provided for one group and spoons for the other group, which has thicker sauces.

I went in the week when they had their 3rd year anniversary, so, there was even more decoration around the place, mainly balloons.

The restaurant is divided into two halves, the separator is a rectangle which encloses the kitchen. On the longer side of the rectangle are the two buffet counters and on the shorter side is the Bar.

The waiters are pretty good and courteous too. Every waiter is dressed in a black T-shirt and has his/her name on the back. (One guy's name is Sudan! Reminds me of Africa).

For entertainment there is a live band too. They were pretty good. Two guys playing the guitars, one electric the other one acoustic, and singing slow soft English numbers. Not that I am a fan of pop music (Ronan Keating and the like, I like Metal/Heavy Metal & METALLICA), but these guys made it enjoyable. They were just the right volume and not disturbing at all, in fact enjoyable. (Some day I hope to be good enough at the guitar to play in  Barbeque Nation!). Kudos to them

Some time later, the waiters put up a dance show for all the customers. I am not sure if this is a regular feature or was a special feature for the anniversary week.  None-the-less, they danced pretty well, some good steps,  some slightly girlie, but delightful to watch. So much so that I was compelled to watch and video shoot the second performance! The second performance was for the second half of the restaurant as both halves can almost not see each other.

One potential disappointment was that the speakers in the exterior half of the restaurant were not working. If I had sat in this section and later found out I missed hearing the live band, I would have been very, very disappointed. I hope they fix this soon.

A new feature in Barbeque Nation, something I have only seen on t.v. on the travel and living channel and no other restaurant in Pune, was a dude, wearing a cowboy hat, carrying a neck hanging tray filled with shot glasses and walking around to make people have Tequila shots. A nice touch for people who would like to have shots and also a smart way to rake up the cash too.

On the table were these table mat sized print outs which mentioned that the bill included a 4% service charge and that waiters were not to be tipped, and any waiter that accepted tips would be discharged of duty. Now the reason I like this is because they mention it clearly up front, not leaving you at the end to decide how much to tip. I am also not a big fan of the tipping system ( maybe someday I will mention why).

The place was rather crowded, and always is very crowded, so, please always go there as early as possible, or you may have to wait a while to be seated. The wait time can be killer. Ideally reach there by 7:00 - 7:15.


[Dinner]
The food at  Barbeque Nation is really good. In fact the variety and the range of dishes is phenomenal. There are a few small disappointments but nothing enough to put you off completely or not enjoy the evening.
It was impossible for me try all of the served dishes. So, I will list down the entire menu for that night and then mention a small note against the things which I actually had, leaving others with no note against them.

Their menu changes weekly, so by the time you read this, the menu may have changed.

One thing to remember: their starters are so good that you might actually end up eating too many starters and then end up having very little main course and very little dessert. It might make sense to go planning to have starters and desserts only! The desserts are unmissable.

Barbeque grilled starters on the table:
Veg.
-- Schezwan grill veg.- I can't seem to remember even seeing this!.
-- Paneer kali mirch - Okay I have had better Paneer at Cream Centre.
-- Italian mushroom - Avoid this one. I did not like it and found the mushrooms to have a weird taste.
-- Falafal with Humus - If you like middle easter food then you will definitely like this one.
-- Cajun spiced potato -  This was really good. A bit tough and crispy. Just the way it should be.

Non-Veg.
-- Coastal BBQ chicken - I was not thoroughly impressed with this one.
-- Parsley Fish - I am not a big fan of fish, especially if it has the strong fish odour, but this starter is really very good. a must have. The fish was soft and did not smelly fishy!
-- Chilly Garlic Prawns - This was a bit of  a disappointment. Medium sized tandoori prawns. Room for improvement.
-- Mutton Hyderabadi seekh Kebab - Good.
-- Angara Tangdi - Foil wrapped tender tandoori chicken drumstick with pepper corns. Yummy. Do not miss this one.

MAIN COURSE :-

Soups
Spicy coriander Veg. soup.
Chicken sweet corn soup.

Non-Veg
Kadhai Murgh
Fish in Oyster sauce
Achari Gosht
Chicken Dum biryani

Veg.
Paneer Lababdar
Corn Palak
Aloo Capsicum dry
Butter Chilli noodles
Plain rice
Veg Biryani
Veg, in hot basil sauce
Dal Tadka
Dal makahani
Baby corn mushroom matter masala

Desserts
Ras malai - Nice. Not very praise worthy since my moms makes 'em better.
Vanilla ice cream
Angoori Gulab jamun - WAY TOO sweet. My teeth tingling just thinking about it again.
Fresh fruits
Apple Strudle
Italian coffee mousse - Very nice coffee flavoured mousse.
Double chocolate slice
Butter scotch pastry - Awesome, brilliant. A must have . Perfect right amount of sweet.

THAT IS ALOT OF FOOD!!!

I would suggest you go over as soon as possible, for dinner rather than lunch.

[Price]

Rs. 649 - Non veg.
Rs. 549 Veg.

Well worth it, especially for the sheer variety and the fact that it is unlimited.


There is a  Barbeque Nation at the Sayaji hotel in Wakad as well. I have found that the Nagar road one is better than the Sayaji hotel outlet.

Overall my verdict is the  Barbeque Nation is well worth it.

Barbeque Nation website
Address:  Solitaire Building, Behind Dass Showroom, 
                 Nagar road, near Kalyani Nagar, Yerawada ,  
                 in line with Near Aga Khan Palace, Pune                
Phone number :  +91-20-32327788, +91-20-32327799.
Timings : 12:30 PM to 3:15 PM, 5 PM to 11:15 PM

 Feel free to drop me a line, or leave a comment of your experience at  Barbeque Nation
Have a great evening.


Alternate reviews at Zomato.com



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Sunday, 7 August 2011

Puran Da Dhaba @ Hotel Pride Executive [Buffet]

After hearing much praise for the North Indian food at Puran Da Dhaba, a visit by yours truly was a must. On my visit it turned out that they had buffet dinner that night and not a-la-carte.

Ambience
The decor is very nicely done. A replica of the dhabas as seen in the north complete with baithaks, the look a feel of low lying brick walls, the vessels used to serve food and drinks,  the vessel used for the tasty preparations on buffet table, the mutka glasses etc, all add to the originality of the concept of Dhaba. The entrance area is also made to look like a road with a sabzi mandi, baithaks, and road signs. For entertainment there is a live band playing (at least on a Saturday night), a mehendi designer for the ladies and also an Astrologer. The live band sings old Hindi songs, some ghazals and they even take requests.

A very nice place to sit with family or even friends for a long duration whilst having dinner, slowly and steadily.

Dinner
Starters :-  Aloo tikki, Chicken tikka, Fish tikka, tandoori banana and pineapple. Th Aloo tikki was very nice. The chicken tikka was standard, kind of like how you get it every where else. The second batch of chicken tikkas however, were not boneless. This was a bit annoying. The fish tikka had a very strong fish smell, hence I did not like that. The tandoori kela was really good but the tandoori pineapple, really BAD!.

Main course :-
Shorbas available were dal and Palak Shorba, chicken Shorba. I am not a very big fan of shorbas since they are very watery and usually tasteless. The dal palak shorba however, was better that the chicken shorba.
--> Benarasi Dum aloo :-  very nice with the roast flavour and masala.
--> Lasooni Paneer : very weak taste and thin gravy. Not impressed.
--> Moong Dal : I did not like this at all. Too thin, watered down.
--> Benarasi Kukkad (chicken) : Nice chicken gravy with  soft chicken pieces.
--> Sweet Lassi :  very nice.
--> Chai : Awesome chai. Just needed to be a little warmer.
--> Gosht Biryani : Overall I did not like the Biryani. I think there was some more flavour required. I think I got something from the bottom  of the vessel which was slightly burnt. The mutton pieces were quite soft though. I have had better.

Desserts
--> Doodhi halwa : Brilliant! To kill for.
--> Gulab Jamun : So-so. It was the sugar coated type. A little more sweet than required.
--> Kesar Barfi : Not worth a special mention.

Price

Rs. 575 per head +  taxes
Coke Rs. 75 + taxes
Cocktails in the Rs. 250-325 range + taxes.
Service tax also charged.

Roughly Rs. 800 - 1000 per head with drinks.

Overall not very impressed with the buffet dinner. I hope a-la-carte is better. Will find out soon enough. Will post about it then

Puran Da dhaba on the Web.




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Mainland China Buffet (Lunch)


Buffets are generally a good idea for foodies. A wide range of options, right from starters to the desserts and unlimited quantity, all for a fairly reasonable price.
Mainland China is easily one of the best Chinese restaurant chains in Pune. A-la-carte dining at Mainland China is always a delight, however only one of their outlets in Pune, the one on Boat club road, has a lunch buffet. After many years of wanting to go there for the lunch buffet, finally I did venture there, and as always, was delighted.

Ambience
The ambience in Mainland China is very fitting with the Chinese theme. Chinese lamps dangling from the ceiling and large chinese paintings on the wall blend very nicely with the overall ambience.
A nice place to go for dinner with the family and also maybe on a date. Not very romantic lighting or even mood lighting but then the food will make the date all the more splendid. There was quite a din in the place but that did not make having your own conversations difficult, and not unnoticeable.

A quick run through of all the dishes and how they were.


On the Menu that day
Starters 
-- Chicken Siumai - steamed chicken dumplings. Very nice.
-- Jiang's chilli chicken - Amazing fried chickens pieces in a chilli sauce. Also very nice. My compliments to Jiang!

-- Veg mini roll - mini Veg. spring rolls. Strictly so-so. Avoidable.
-- Crispy potato - A must have. Potatoes, fries and crispy, the best formula as always.
-- Veg. Basil dumpling - I myself did not like this very much; not a basil fan, the vegetarians around did seem to enjoy this.
-- Eight treasure soup(Veg. and Non.Veg.)- Worth having for sure.


Main Course
Veg.

-- Tossed Veg. dumpling chilli soya -
-- Sapo tofu veg.  -  A must have. Never has tofu been made in such a spectacular manner!
-- Mix. Veg. in hot garlic sauce - How can any Chinese veg. meal be complete without a hot garlic sauce dish. Pretty neat.
-- Okra egg plant in black pepper sauce. - Did not try this. Hey! I have limited room in my stomach!
-- Four treasure veg. fried rice- Not comparable to their Lotus rice, but good taste none the less. If you can eat the rice with any gravy and love it, that my friend, is a good rice, and that is exactly what this is.

Non. Veg.
-- Lamb in Peking style sauce ~ Awesome. Soft lamb pieces in a brown sauce. Loved it. However, if you do not like the inherent lamb flavour/fragrance, you may not like the taste of the lamb chunks.
-- Crab in garlic butter sauce ~ Not a fan of Crab. Crab piece was okay, gravy not extraordinary.
-- Chicken in Sichuan chilli sauce ~ Pretty good, especially in front of the other dishes.
-- Prawn in Chilli oyster sauce ~ Prawn pieces a little chewy. Could have been better. Overall not bad.
-- Fish in Yellow bean sauce ~ Strictly okay, not very impressed.
-- Mixed meat fried rice ~   Second only to their Lotus rice, and good to have without gravies too.
-- Chicken hakka noodles ~ Not extraordinary.

Drink
A choice of mock-tail or a glass of beer.

Desserts
Tart
Pastry
Mousse
Fresh fruits

Not a wide range of choices in the desserts section, however some of the chocolate mousse and pastries are worth having. Avoid anything which is mango/musk melon flavored. Some of the fresh fruits were tasty, especially the pineapple.

Price
Rs. 595 + taxes per head. A very reasonable price taking into account that there is an option for beer and seafood included. I want to say that the buffet was extraordinary, but can't since not everything was awesome, as I would have liked it to be.
Recommended none the less. It is a must try.

A-la-carte dining at Mainland China is very expensive, on average Rs. 800-1000 per head.

A-la-Carte must haves
In case you go to Mainland China and have a-la-carte, then you must try their crispy fried vegetables, Lotus rice, and the dumpling they serve with a thin brown sauce (the name escapes me at the moment).

The management at Mainland China do seem to be very particular about their image and dedicated to their work. We had put in a comment in  the feedback form about their manager and the Senior manager immediately came to us to discuss the feedback. Such prompt response from management or corporates is very pleasing to see and experience.

I saw a placard behind the toilet door when exiting. The placard mentioned that if we wanted anything, we could ask the management for it and they would arrange for it. For e.g. if you wanted a sewing kit while dining there. There were a few more interesting examples which I can't seem to remember. This is a very unique and nice gesture. Kudos to them.

Mainland China website

Address : City Point,
               Gr. Floor, Dhole Patil Road,
               Boat Club,

Tel :      (020)
66013030, 30463605 , 30463606
Email :
 mlcpune1@speciality.co.in   
Timings :  12:00 pm - 3:30 pm & 7:00 pm - 11:30 pm



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